Governance and Sustainability

This book is motivated by the need to examine "the analytical connection of concepts of governance and sustainability although they are often characterised by different scientific traditions" (p10). This is because "[g]overnance for sustainability under contemporary conditions is confronted with challenges that exceed the capacity of traditional governance solutions for local or regional commons in which sustainability could be sustained over a long period of time" (p11). It becomes obvious that the text derives from a different intellectual tradition than that which we English-speakers are familiar and herein lies its probable strength. The text comprises 16 chapters, which have been developed from papers presented at a conference by the same name as the book in Berlin in 2002. Chapters cover globalization, governance, global partnerships, gender, social learning, role of politics, participation, partnerships, role of the nation-state, product policy, voluntary initiatives, good company citizenship (this from Mark Wade of Shell), the UN Global Compact and GRI, and the challenges for civil society. I am not sure that there is much here which is especially novel but the breadth and coverage do offer a way to get up to speed on a range of aspects of the debate(s) and to do so from a usefully non-Anglophobe perspective. The first three chapters (including a neat but short piece from the excellent von Weizsäcker) provide a thorough but far from rabid introduction to the issue in environmental and social sustainability and the present problems we face. The authors are not optimistic. Chapters throughout do take a thorough analysis of policy-centred aspects of the world we live in. This is not a common experience in our literature and it commends itself to us. Whether or not we would entirely agree I was stimulated by, for example, Jänicke's "ten theses" about the nation-state; Clausen et al.'s deconstruction of the range of experience with voluntary initiatives and van der Lugt's unsentimental look at the Global Compact and GRI. The book has much to commend it and is well worth library purchase and some time spent in systematic study. - Social and Environmental Accounting Journal Volume 6 Issue 1 |

| This collection of 16 papers dates from a workshop held in Berlin in September 2002. As time would tell, the conference took place half way between two milestone UN sustainability conferences separated by 20 years in Rio de Janeiro. More insights are had by reading this book now in 2012 than when it was published in 2005. The extra benefit comes from the historical perspective. The passing of a decade is a big advantage rather than being a detriment in this case. The point [of the papers in this book] was to have special guests share their thoughts on emerging forms of social cooperation, new governance structures, and the redistribution of authority that would be necessary to ameliorate global environmental problems and poverty. The point [of the papers in this book] was to have special guests share their thoughts on emerging forms of social cooperation, new governance structures, and the redistribution of authority that would be necessary to ameliorate global environmental problems and poverty. Since then NGOs and media pundits of every persuasion have feasted on the shortcomings of the UN summits on sustainable development. Their blistering rebukes blame governments for negotiating pathetically weak texts... The critics would have far wiser opinions to offer if they had read this book. The editors explain at the start that opportunities are fading for nation states to use traditional means to deal with sustainable development. Coping with the challenge requires a dramatic change in steering processes. Nations need to find new models of regulation and governance. The contributors understand the situation and deal with it head on. The conclusions are not all optimistic, but they are well informed. - Crosslands Bulletin, July 2012